Vicodin and alcohol

Maybe. What does the doctor say?

I didn't ask. The first page of google seem hysterical to me. I've taken percocet and had a couple of cocktails with no problem.

knock yourself out and HAVE SOME FUN BABY!! Been there-done that!!

Why do you need alcohol if you're already buzzing on Vicodin?

Who gets your stuff, OP?

Yoose an idiot, Op -

Opiates don't make me high. No one in my family has that reaction.

The pharmacy.

TO R4.....WHY THE FUCK NOT????

I've found a big difference between Vicodin and Percocet (the latter milder), and wouldn't chance mixing the former with alcohol, but I'm a very lightweight drinker, so YMMV.

I'm kind of looking for personal experience or, barring that, a real professional.

I never have more than 1 or 2, max.

NEVER. Please don't. My sister was prescribed Vicodin. She had two shots of whiskey and went into a seizure.

How much vicodin was she taking r12?

I'm only asking because I'm going to be on this indefinitely.

Yeah OP, never! It's not worth it

As long as you drink with a buddy who has a large supply of naloxone you'll be fine OP.

Vicodin is an opiate, OP. indefinitely? Wow.

3 tablets a day r13

You'll be fine unless your one of those that can't handle their liquor. It's all good.

R12's sister is a loser.

R12's sister takes the short bus.

OP has got to be a Troll - Every self-responsible person knows one never mixes chemicals with alcohol -

r19. That's kinda what I thought.

OP: You were started at the Norco 10/325 mg as your first opioid analgesic? If you're opioid-naive and it's your first prescription, that seems a little excessive: it comes in a 5/325 mg and 7.5/325 mg dosage, too. Generally, you would start at 5/325 mg every 4-6hrs as needed and titrate up from there, if needed. To answer your specific question: I can't really advise you that it's smart to drink while taking any opiate/opioid as both are CNS depressants, so the risk for respiratory depression, especially in opioid-naive people, exists. Opioids alone can cause respiratory depression--it's the fatal component of overdose--so mixing it them with alcohol, or any other CNS depressant, isn't generally recommended. That being said, after your on the Norco for a couple weeks, once you've developed a little bit of a tolerance, then one or two drinks probably won't kill you. But also remember: Vicodin (which, P.S., you're on generic Norco; Vicodin is dosed at 5/300, 7.5/300 and 10/300; Norco is the hydrocodone + 325 mg acetaminophen), Norco, Lortab, Hycet, etc., all contain acetaminophen/Tylenol, which, like alcohol, can be toxic to the liver with higher doses.

You'll pee the bed!

No, you're fine.

Come on over!

Thanks r24. What's the half-life for Norco. For instance, If I take one in the morning, by dinner am I ok?

Do not step into a soothing bath, Op -

R28: The half-life for hydrocodone is about 4 hours, give or take; and acetaminophen has a t1/2 of 2-4 hours. So yes, if you wait a few hours between taking a dose and drinking, there is a better chance you'll be fine.

I don’t know, can you post in the morning and let us know if you woke up?

Thanks r24. You're a mensch.

r31 Absolutely not.

I haven’t had problems with one. But generally not fun. Vicodin is too good on its own to ruin with alcohol. Enjoy the brief supply. But make sure you stop it ASAP. That shit is no joke.

Any doctor who puts you on opioids or benzos "indefinitely" should lose their license to practice medicine. They're both highly addictive respiratory depressants and bad for your liver. Mixing either with booze can be fatal.

A single beer or glass of wine with dinner might not kill you, but I still wouldn't risk it.

Stay away from opioids and benzos at all cost, unless it is a short term issue and nothing else works.

As I posted before, opiates don't make me high. They just relieve pain.

Thanks, r34. Where did you go to med school?

[quote] The biggest difference between the opioid ingredients in these two drugs, hydrocodone and oxycodone, is strength. Oxycodone is considered to be more potent than hydrocodone. Thus, Percocet is stronger than Vicodin.

You don't need to go to med school to know opiates and benzos are highly addictive and potentially deadly when mixed with alcohol, Ms. Houston/R36.

As a point of reference, I've been to 3 pain management clinics over the years and the last one, after everything but opiates had been tried to no avail said I should learn to live with the pain. Naturally, I thought that was not acceptable..

Opiates and alcohol??? I wanna party with YOU OP!

Go for it, Neely! Datalounge is a place you can always crawl back to when every other place has drummed you out.

I had horrible neck issues for years. Turned out I had horrendous bulging discs on two levels. Already on Norco, arms were starting to go numb and losing strength. I was in my 20's (so just 6 years ago). I ended up having surgery and on Norco (Oxy and Perc I turned down- too strong. Made me sick). Norco was just fine. 10/325. I was on them for 5 years. Once I was sent to pain management clinics which were outrageous in pricing and the pharmacies you had to go to were jacking up prices. I decided, still in pain due to nerve damage, to ween myself off. I did it over a month and a 1/2 and was completely fine. Never had withdrawal. I also take benzos for anxiety (fam thing). But a low dose and not the really addictive kind. Not a problem. Oh I was on Soma as well.

Oh, and I partied hard on the weekends drinking. Never had an issue there either. But I would caution.

Now I take a very middle of the road muscle relaxer which completely took away my pain. My neck was one huge knot.

Alcohol + Tylenol will destroy your liver. Seriously.

r42, ever had trouble with constipation, taking all those opiates?

I don’t think benzos are as bad as opioids. Never had a great desire to take more Xanax. But Vicodin totally relaxed me and was a miracle cure for anxiety - and made me feel totally content. Exactly what I imagine heroin users feel more intensely. Totally more addictive than benzos. (Though possibly benzos in high doses could be a different thing)

Thanks r42. I'm 60, HIV+ since at least the early 80s, and I'm just not interested in a crappy quality of life if it's really not going to kill me straight away. I've been around long enough to know that opiates are the new reefer madness (google is your friend) so getting true information is a challenge. I like r24. They're obviously knowledgeable and telling the truth.

I want to underline the warnings about liver damage from alcohol + acetominophen (e.g., Tylenol, Excedrin, etc.). I can't believe it's still on the market. Ibuprofen (e.g., Advil), Naproxen (e.g., Aleve) are much safer.

And my days of hard partying are far, far behind me.

I had my liver enzymes done last week and they're fine.

R43 nails it. Forget about the opioid part of the equation (unless you are actually ABUSING them and taking way more a day than prescribed). The killer is that Tylenol (acetaminophen) is very harsh on your liver in general; why the medical community ignores this, I will never understand. Alcohol is also harsh on your liver. It is best to use them at different times and not in unison. Does that make sense?

All you acetaminophen people sound like anti-vaxxers

People kill themselves by overdosing on Tylenol - because of the liver toxicity. Yet decongestants can’t be OTC - or weed for that matter.

It’s not anti- axed becaus no harm is done by using another type of painkiller. I don’t k ow why they mix acetaminophen with Vicodin - seems totally unnecessary and dangerous.

I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist but I'm pretty sure there's a good reason.

R52 - good point. Supposedly, the active agents in the Tylenol aid the opiate in it's painkilling properties. When I had oral surgery, I asked for Vicoprofen instead of Vicodin. It worked just fine and I didn't freak out if I needed one in the AM and wanted a drink that evening. I have never taken many pain killers (I'm not a prude - done plenty and plenty of coke in my day), so perhaps the painkilling effect is not as good as the Vicodin. For me, it worked just fine. They certainly helped the pain, but I was not in any hurry to get my hands on more. To each there own I guess.

I'm a daily beer drinker. When I was going through cancer treatment, they put me on hydrocodone. I didn't have pain to justify the prescription, it was just standard. I took it a few times and always threw up the next day, and just stopped taking the pills. They do prescribe too much. I didn't need it at all, but they gave me an unlimited supply.

I did it for years. It's not a good idea because of the Tylenol.

Lord. Of course having a Vicodin and a drink or two won't do anything. Sheesh.

[quote] "I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist but I'm pretty sure there's a good reason.—Anonymous"

Yes, R53, there's a good reason. Because you're a druggie, darlin'.

OP, exactly what r56 said. The opiate bit of the Vicodin won't hurt you, but the acetaminophen aka Tylenol can actually kill you. Not exaggerating. A huge majority of ER intakes are because of acetaminophen poisoning, not just from things like Vikes but Nyquil, Dayquil, and so on.

Next time you want a script, tell your doctor that you are allergic to acetaminophen and you would like to get your pills with Ibuprofen instead. Ibuprofen is still not exactly great, but kills far fewer people than acetaminophen . That said, a few Vikes with a couple of drinks won't likely do you in, but I don't know how much acetaminophen you are ingesting when you do this.

Most Gen Xers who partied in the late 90's and early 2000's mixed the two many a time. Many of us mixed a few pills with a lot of drinks. We lived and most had no issues, but I would not recommend it. Back then, we thought that the warnings were pertaining to the "state of mind" of pain pills mixed with alcohol. The reality is that both are hard on the liver. Don't make a habit of it.

Vicodin and Booze sex is hot...,Don't waste this situation alone!!

Unless your partner keeps passing out on you.

Jesus, people. Is your google button broken? The daily maximum amount of acetaminophen is 4,000mg. Both Norco and Percocet have 325mg of acetaminophen per pill. The recommended dose is 2 pills/day.. That's 650mg/day. Well below the maximum daily dose. I've know your kind in my life. Just so you know, none of your friends ever believe you and they all think you're crazy because you're always talking out of your ass. Just stop! Do your research before you start blowing off opinion pretending to be fact.

After I had 2 wisdom teeth cut out I had 1 hydrocodone ( I don't know the mg ) and 2 oz of 100 proof vodka at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. for 2 days.

It helped me sleep.

I would be afraid to do that with vodka and Benadryl.

There's a way to get the tylenol out of the pills. Its called cold water extraction. Just do that OP and you're good. There's videos on the web.

OP - Candidate for a Darwin award

I have a body that’s partially made out of metal, so I have years of experience with narcotics and pain clinics. OP, here is the truth — Norco is awesome and it works. It is also *extremely* addictive. I abused it for years: the problem is tolerance and how short-acting it is. You cannot fathom how quickly your tolerance increases, it’s almost unmanageable. The constipation I experienced was ungodly, sexy, I know. The withdrawals were pure hell. I went through this many times, sad to say.

I now only take Tramadol, and I still struggle with not overusing it and my tolerance, but it’s no where near as bad as Norco. The other thing that no one is mentioning is when you take Norco a lot, I’ve found that it makes you extremely short-tempered, almost a rageaholic. You feel justified in being angry over “whatever.” It turned me into a demon at times, and I saw the same happen to other people using it. Is that who you want to be?

Tylenol seems to enhance the effects of opiates/narcotics, for my pain I always took both, and I just had my doctor check my liver. OP, if you’re in tremendous pain, only you can decide if the good outweighs the bad in taking this medication. I have zero judgement on someone who decides their pain justifies it. My only word of caution is don’t kid yourself and think that you will be immune from the consequences of taking Norco — it is serious shit, and I say this as someone who has had huge bottles of morphine, dilaudid, OxyContin, oxycodone. I think it’s the most addictive of all these, and the worst because it is so short acting, so you go through “withdrawal” just a few hours after you take it, and then your body craves it right away. The cravings with Norco are stronger than any of these other drugs, even OxyContin.

Yes, of course you can drink on it, just don’t make a habit of it, and don’t drink a lot, no more than two drinks. Personally, I think benzos and alcohol are worse than Norco and alcohol. Be careful, and report back!

Thanks r65 but I get my liver enzymes done every three months and as long as they're normal i don't see a reason to change. Plus, I'm too old to be doing all that Breaking Bad shit. :)

Thanks r67. All good information.

You’re welcome love. Just use common sense and you’ll be fine.

I'm R42. I think it depends on how each type of drug interacts with your body. Most people say Oxy is far more addictive than Norco. I can't take Oxy or Perc-they make me sick as does Codeine. Norco was the only thing that worked and I was in so much pain it was debilitating and I am a very active guy. Most people get addicted by mixing them with heavy doses of Soma and benzos. I never really got high on Norco alone. Ever. So maybe that is why I never felt I was addicted after 5 years on them. I weened off pretty easy.

My doctor kept saying it was from exercising and I kept getting pinched nerves. It wasn't until I started losing sensation in my arms they knew I had a serious problem. That was year 3. I finally demanded a MRI and he quickly agreed. They wanted to try all sorts of shit. The surgeon took one look at my MRI and said I needed surgery within 2 weeks. The pain docs I went to said my MRI looked like I had been a football player or in a bad car wreck. They said it was one of the worst they had ever seen. I could not have surgery within 2 weeks due to work so I the first pair of pain docs, who said that about my MRI, only prescribed 45 Norco 10 mg/325 a month. I was already on 4 a day and BARELY making it. So I went to pill mills and got my 4 a day. The surgeon said my arm and pinched nerve would heal quickly but not my neck pain. It didn't. 2 more years of pain clinic hell. Then they started gauging the shit out of me. Yes, the constipation is awful but not if I was religious about taking stool softeners.

Luckily, a mild muscle relaxer eased my neck pain almost completely. I hope I never need a pain pill again. I feel for people who need them for pain. They've made it HELL to get them which is a shame for those who really need them.

^^^^ I meant gouging

As Valley of the dolls taught about drinking booze with pills....."it makes them work better"

This again.

OP, have any valium on you?

0/10

[quote]Alcohol + Tylenol will destroy your liver.

What if you alternate. I'm currently on martini night. They both help me sleep.

I talked to my doctor today and he said that you really have to work at it to do yourself harm with opiates and alcohol. If you more or less keep to the daily dosage and keep it to a couple of drink, you're fine. And percocet is stronger than Norno.

r77 The recommended daily maximum for Extra Strength Tylenol 500mg tablets will go down from 8 per day to 6 per day, i.e. from 4,000mg per day to 3,000mg per day. @ to 3 martinis and you're fine. If you're worried, have your doctor test your liver enzymes.

You understand most of the people offering their opinion on this thread are talking out of their asses, right?

What does that even mean r80? Of course we’re talking out of our asses? We’re on DL? Expressing weird opinions? And random experiences? Did you get the idea that OP was looking for sound medical advice?

Lol

What happened to your unlimited supply R55? Asking for a friend...

When we read news of opioid overdoses, is it safe to presume people are drinking excessively while swallowing handfuls of pills each day?

Agree R71 - I had a herniated disc and no one would give me pain pills. Finally had to demand something. Used them sporadically over the course of a month or so. No issues. It’s ridiculous that people in pain can’t get anything now. From one extreme to another.

OP just have your cell phone ready to call 911 and a friend nearby for your final bow. Drugs kill - opiate addiction must suck. Does it, OP?

NORCOSH! PERCOSHETSH! OXSHYCONTINSH! BENZOSH! GIN AND TONICSH! MEXSHICAN DIET PILLSH!

If you only take one Vicodin pill and one, no more than two, mixed drinks, and you are in reasonably good health, it should not do you serious harm. But you do need to stay at home and not go anywhere and definitely not drive. Just relax at home and be ready to go to bed as it will make you sleepy since you say you have no tolerance. Don't overdo it. Moderation is the key. Also you shouldn't make a habit of drinking with the Vicodin. Once in awhile maybe but not too often.

I used to take Vicodin/Lortabs for a number of years. For severe headache pain. I would get a prescription for 260 pills, all at once. Huge bottle! I have to be honest, over time I developed a high tolerance to the pills and started popping them like M&Ms. I'd take 3, 4, 5 at a time. Then another pick-me-up booster pill about every two hours. To maintain the mellow feeling at the pleasant level I liked. I didn't drink alcohol with the Vicodins but years earlier I had a psychological addiction to Darvocets (which are now banned by the FDA as a dangerous drug). At my worst I was swallowing 12 Darvocets all at once just to get high and then hours later maybe another one or two. Then late at night after work (yes, I could work under the influence just fine) I'd drink a whole 8 pack of Little Kings Cream Ale. That boosted and enhanced the mellow high very nicely. Watch some TV then go to bed and get up with no hangover. Not really groggy either. My tolerance was so high I could do this but if a normal person tried to do what I did they would quickly find themselves in the Emergency Room. Eventually I completely, 100% quit Darvocets for good. Stopped cold turkey and went through some hellish withdrawal symptoms which lasted three months and is what gave me the resulting chronic severe headaches that made me start taking the Vicodins. To me Vicodins are weak. Mild. As long as you don't take too many. But I also stopped the Vicodins completely about 10 years ago and have never had one since. I knew that the Darvocets and the Vicodins were dangerous mainly because of the massive amounts of toxic Acetaminophen in them. I must have taken many, many thousands of milligrams of Acetaminophen over the years but I've been repeatedly tested for liver function (and kidney function) and to my relief my liver is just fine - no damage at all. I don't know how that's possible but I guess I'm lucky. So the only lingering physical damage from all of that crazy drug abuse are severe headaches which are very similar to migraines, but not migraines. I take Butalbital for them, which is a Schedule 3 drug...not quite as dangerous as the opioids which are Schedule 2. The Butalbital (Fiorinal) has aspirin and caffeine in them. So no Acetaminophen. Safer. I only take 20 to 25 pills a month, maximum, as needed. So the bottom line I'm trying to get at is some of these drugs with the bad reputation aren't as dangerous as they are painted, as long as one uses them in moderation and sparingly. I was out of control, it messed me up for years but I learned my lesson and now have a realistic, wiser attitude toward psychoactive drugs. They are useful, important and essential for some people. Those people need and deserve them. But our government paints everyone with the same brush and wants to punish everybody because of a few thousand hibillies in rural states who are opioid addicts. The drugs themselves are not bad or evil. It's how people abuse them. Use common sense and be aware of the dangers is my advice. Don't play with fire.

I've been taking 7.5-325 Percocet twice a day for pain for the last 3 years. I also take 2mg klonapin and 10g Ambien every day. I like a martini after work. I don't get constipated, it doesn't make me high, I've dosed down from time to time for a break so I've never experienced withdrawal. My liver is fine. I have no idea what this opioid crisis is all about. Where are they getting so much that they are dying from it? It doesn't make any sense to me

Wow R88 - amazes you are alive? How old r u - roughly? It would be impossible to get that volume of drugs today. But

I agree - a lot of the danger is overhyped. Adults - who are most likely to suffer the chronic pain - should not be treated like the 21 year old pill head. There needs to be some middle ground. I feel like we are back in the “just say no” era - when even pot was demonized and lives, families and careers were lost because of a political agenda,